23 districts selected High Performance Schools Consortium members

AUSTIN – Texas Commissioner of Education Michael L. Williams today invited 23 school districts to participate in the Texas High Performance Schools Consortium, which will help develop innovative, next-generation learning standards, assessments and accountability systems. TEA will host the first consortium meeting next month.

“The school districts selected to participate in the consortium are already known for their innovative work and are looked to by many as educational leaders. This exciting project will help the Governor, legislative leaders and the Texas Education Agency craft a sound, well-thought out plan to move all Texas schools to the next performance level,” Williams said.

The consortium will make recommendations in four key areas:

Digital learning--Engagement of students in digital learning, including the use of electronic textbooks and instructional materials and courses offered through the Texas Virtual School Network;

Learning standards--Standards that a student must master to be successful in a competitive postsecondary environment;

Multiple assessments--Various methods of measuring student progress to keep students, parents and schools informed, and the actions consortium participants are taking to improve learning; and

Local control--Ways in which reliance on local input and decision-making enable communities and parents to be involved in the important decisions regarding the education of their children.

Districts submitted an application and went through a rigorous selection process to become part of the consortium. To be eligible to participate, a district or charter must have:

Received either national, statewide, or regional public acknowledgement for district-wide or campus-wide excellence in academic performance or innovative practice;

Supplied proof of compliance with TEA audit requirements; and

Met performance ratings requirements– Only districts and campuses that have received Academically Acceptable, Recognized, or Exemplary ratings and open enrollment charter schools that are rated Exemplary in the 2010-2011 state accountability system are eligible.

In selecting the participants, state law required the Commissioner to create a consortium that reflected the state’s diversity in district size and type, as well as student demographics.

Following is an alphabetic list of those selected to participate in the consortium.